With all big game the most poundage you can pull and shoot, comfortably and accurate, is the best IMO. Elk are a big tougher skinned heavy boned animal. Good KE, accurate shot placement and a good fixed bh will put them down fast. I think CO has a minimum limit of 45lbs for elk but can't remember. Eitherway no matter what lbs you shoot make sure you have atleast a medium weight arrow and bh setup and know the limitations of your setup with how far you can shoot and get good penetration to get good blood trails and kill them quick. With a marginal but fatal hit on an elk your chances of recovering them is much less than a whitetail with a marginal but fatal hit. The terrain and size of an elk make finding them much harder to track. You just have to be smart and take smart shots while knowing your equipments ethical limits and you'll get the job done. WCL
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Twisted Tines Taxidermy
-Where your memories afield are our greatest passion-
Diamond/Bowtech: 2009 Iceman
Fish Won't Bite?? GIVE EM THE SHAFT!!!! Muzzy Bowfishing
Yup low lbs will do the trick just fine. They just have more limits thats all and as long as the hunter understands that they will be fine...... As far as range finder. Yes if you haven't seen many or any elk in your life up close and with the terrain you will be way off on estimations exspecially when an elk apears from nowhere unplanned and fast which happens alot. They are a big animal so you tend to estimate them closer than they are and you get past 20 yards and your perception of them and the terrain all goes to wack. Best thing when sitting is range a bunch of trees or known locations like you would deer hunting from a stand or can even do that by your eye if you are good enough at it. If you walk into a situation where something happens fast try and range locations teh elk is going to, if you have time too. You may not always end up using it in all situations but it is nice to have exspecially when your shooting those 40-60+ yard shots. I always try and get an exact range on the animal unless time and situation does not permit it. Missing a little high or a little low and only catching one lung can result in alot of unrecovered elk even though they most likely will expire eventually but how far they go before dieing and how much blood you have to find them is another story. You don't need a fancy range finder if all you are doing is bowhunting with it. You want somethgin fairly quick and accurate and can find a range finder for under $200 that will do everythgin you will need it to for bowhunting. They are an amazingly fun animal to hunt exspecially with archery equipment. Good luck. WCL
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Twisted Tines Taxidermy
-Where your memories afield are our greatest passion-
Diamond/Bowtech: 2009 Iceman
Fish Won't Bite?? GIVE EM THE SHAFT!!!! Muzzy Bowfishing
Location: 30 miles from park city UT on 1,500 acres.
Posts: 879
well I work for outffiters as a guide so I am around elk all the time I practicaly live with em;-) I have shot all my elk within 70 yd ( thats why I want to switch to archery ) so do you think it is worth it to get a range finder? I have noticed they are pretty pricy ( for a good one) but would a cheap 30-50$ one do the trick?
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HUNT EAT SLEEP REPEAT!!
elk+mountains+sunsets+guns+hunters+Atvs= my life
You can have my gun when you pry it from my paranoid, mentally disturbed, physically-abusive, cold, dead hand.
bow poundage for elk.
